Monday, July 24, 2017

I feel like I am
filling some big shoes up here. We have
had so many wonderful service leaders this summer. Thank you, everyone who has taken on this
responsibility for our Congregation. And
thank you for allowing me to offer this service today. I am grateful to be here before you this
morning to offer hope, consolation, depth, and humanity. These are the potentially life-saving or
perhaps more accurately said, soul-saving gifts of great poems. I want to start off by reading one such poem
that has served those two purposes in my life.

Wild Geese

You do not have to
be good. You do not have to
walk on your kneesfor a hundred miles
through the desert, repenting.You only have to let
the soft animal of your bodylove what it loves. Tell me about
despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.Meanwhile the world
goes on.Meanwhile the sun
and the clear pebbles of the rainare moving across
the landscapes,over the prairies
and the deep trees, the mountains and
the rivers.Meanwhile the wild
geese, high in the clean blue air,are heading home
again.Whoever you are, no
matter how lonely,the world offers
itself to your imagination, calls to you like
the wild geese, harsh and exciting—over and over
announcing your placein the family of
things. --Mary Oliver

I am not sure at
what point in life I discovered nature’s capacity to astound, awe, comfort and
console, but when I go back to the little river town I grew up in along the
Ohio River in Indiana, it feels like our house and neighborhood are on the
verge of being overtaken again by the wilderness.

I was still in
elementary school when I started taking really long walks. The longer the walk,
the closer I could get to country roads and wildness. In those days nature felt like the only thing
big enough to hold all of the grandeur going on in my head, the hopeless
idealism of youth and the excitement and thrill of discovery that comes so
easily when the world is new to the senses.

Mary Oliver’s more
grown-up approach to nature in her poetry, her ability to find awe and
reverence and truth through observation, the fact that she knows “how to be
idle and blessed” while feeding a grasshopper, reminds me that nature has been
and will continue to be a container for the great swells of my humanity.

One of my lifelong best-friends introduced me
to Mary Oliver through the poem “Wild Geese.”
I still have the well-worn photocopy she gave me when we were in
college. During my first few years as a
middle school teacher, the poem resided on my bedside table and I read it like
a prayer in an effort to cope with a career that did not suit me and a marriage
that was doomed to fail. I hovered over
the words: “You do not have to be good./ You do not have to walk on your knees/
for a hundred miles through the desert repenting/ You only have to let the soft
animal of your body/ love what it loves.”
Those lines were such a relief to a falling away Catholic who felt like
she was missing the mark constantly.
Mary Oliver helped me be a little kinder to myself for not having it all
figured out.

“Wild Geese” helped
me remember that the world was calling to me “harsh and exciting” like a flock
of geese flying overhead. I need only
connect to the raw energy of wild landscapes to find consolation from the
tangles of my very human existence.

Mary Oliver’s poems
remind us all that when life doesn’t make sense, when life doesn’t turn out
like it’s supposed to turn out, when we are so tangled up and can’t see or hear
the answers we need, we can seek out the wild places. We can remember that underneath our
sophisticated humanness we are still just like the animals we share the world
with seeking shelter, food, warmth, and companionship. It’s that simple. And there’s compassion in that, for ourselves
and for each other. It’s about being
enough. We are enough just because we
exist.

Returning from a
Mary Oliver poem, or the walk that her poem might inspire us to take, we might
find nothing in our lives altered. The
problems are still there. The world
still is what it is. The difference is
an internal shift. We connect to
something a little more primal, instinctive, less in our head. We have our feet more solidly on the
ground. It might be possible to be a
little easier on ourselves and everyone else who seems to be letting us down or
antagonizing us.

Sometimes we need a
break from the fires of our commitments, our passions, our careers, whatever it
might be that has us spinning our wheels.
Some cold, cold waters thrown on the burning coals of our goals, and
conundrums, that’s what a poem, a Mary Oliver poem, or the walk inspired by a
Mary Oliver poem can do. Replete with
natural imagery, yet devoid of sentimentality or romanticism, Mary Oliver’s poetry
is an invitation to connect with the world around us that exists in spite of
human endeavor and is in fact indifferent to it. She evokes the humbling power of landscapes
and other creatures of the earth to put our humanity in perspective, to realize
that nature, though we may collectively have the power to alter and maybe even
destroy it, is still a more powerful force than we will ever be.

The Poetry of Mary Oliver: An Invitation to “Your One Wild and Precious Life”, a sermon delivered at 1stUUPB by Amy Stauber, July 23, 2017.

Monday, July 17, 2017

On 9 July, 2017 I gave a lay-led
sermon/talk on “Drugs Legalize?” at the 1st Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Palm Beaches. Many agreed
with the subject and 5 people of my age group later told me they had lost a
loved one to drugs or had someone who was having addiction problems. I decided
to offer a shorter version for all to consider about the opioid and other drug
addiction problems. Please write, email etc your state and federal
legislators with your opinion. Or yell at me if you think it will help. Here is the shortened sermon:

Many of us have enjoyed a drink or a smoke at one time or
another without much thought of the legality. How many know a friend or
relative that shortened or ended their lives by excessive use of some products
both legal and illegal?

An article by John Tierney of the New York Times in the
1990's is still current; Mr. Morales of Bolivia held up a small green coca leaf
as he talked about international drug policies. He denounced the U.S. for
criminalization of coca as he stated it has been demonstrated that the coca
leaf does no harm to human health, Andean people have been using it for
centuries for tea, gum etcetera and it was the Americans making it into white
powder that cause problems as do many other things concentrated and in a high
enough dose. It was the U.S.'s problem not the product they had been using for
centuries. Saudi Arabia can prohibit alcoholic beverages all they wish but they
have not asked the U.S. to eradicate and the barley fields in Tennessee and in
the rest of the world. We however ask
the worlds growers to eradicate coca leaf and heroin poppies thinking it will
get rid of our problems.

How to tackle a problem that has long been intertwined with
our lives? Many items materials or ingredients have been used in ceremonies or
celebrations that are now illegal, much
of the time it was priests/shamans etc. that were allowed to use these,
however I’m sure there was leakage of the ceremonial stash to the local populace.
Most everyone wants something to ease the pains and hurts of everyday living
(physical and mental). Actions which affect only oneself are hard to
criminalize, i.e. I drink so what’s it to you, or yea I smoked a joint, so what? All the laws, penalties and prohibitions which have been enacted have come to
naught.

The Volstead Act prohibiting the sale of alcohol nationwide
was a disaster. View the PBS series “Prohibition“ by Ken Burns or the book “The
Last Call” by Daniel Okrent for a fast education. It was repealed in 1933 as
the government needed money and a tax on beer would come in quickly, that or
try to raise taxes on the wealthy. States passed the repeal in less than a
year. Mother Culture (society’s consensus of opinion) had spoken. However
organized crime became better established and is still with us. Alcohol
consumption has varied over the years, a big celebration was tempered by the
depression and delayed by WWII.

The 1950's thru 1980's were good times for the
industry. Remember lounge lizard and the three martin lunch? Heavy drinking
fell out of favor in the 1990's. DUI became a problem, death rates soared due
to more and faster cars. More people driving both drunk and sober. More laws
were passed against DUI and the safety of autos was greatly improved.

Anyone
remember the advent of seat belts? Some thought Joe Stalin had taken over and
any fool knows that you will survive if thrown clear. Now most people use
shoulder harnesses and follow the law with little complaint. Mother Culture had
spoken, but not as loud as about for the repeal of prohibition.

Some interesting items: Deaths from alcohol poisoning halved
by 1935.The first DUI was in London in 1897, New York passed the first DUI law
in 1910, in 1936 the first balloon for testing for breath alcohol was used. New
York City bars had closing times again not wide open as during prohibition.
Licenses were required for manufacturing and sales gave revenue to city, state
and federal governments.

Consumption of narcotics had been around for centuries,
mostly for medical purposes, outlandish claims of stopping the craving for
alcohol and making childbirth a pleasure were some of them. In 1875 the city
of San Francisco made it a misdemeanor to own or patronize an opium den. Some
Chinese immigrants brought the habit with them. How come? Suggest you Google
opium wars and note the British wanted to import opium to China. In 1914 the
Harrison Narcotics Act passed, this was first federal act to restrict the
access of opioids and cocaine!

In 1930 the Federal Narcotics Commissioner Harry Anslinger
claimed that marijuana caused lunacy and murder, mainly by black people, and
everyone else too. His campaign against marijuana may have been enhanced by his
association with nylon rope manufactures, it was not as good as hemp rope at
that time. This has never been proven. However his tactics were similar to the Dries before prohibition and the present NRA i.e. see you at the voting booth.

In the 1950's and 60's LSD and psilocybin were being
investigated for treatment of mental problems, however they became symbols
of youth rebellion and social upheaval, funding was stopped.

In 1971 President Nixon declared a “War on Drugs” increasing
federal enforcement and penalties.

1973-1977 Eleven states decriminalized marijuana possession,
it remains a class one drug for federal purposes.

1981 President Reagan made drugs a priority, arrest and
incarceration soared. Remember “Just Say No” -- good idea but it didn’t
catch on.

Our government zigged and zagged but hasn’t moved towards liberalization
because (in my opinion which it and $50 will nearly always buy a cup of coffee)
opponents say I’ll see you at the poles next election.

Cigarettes continue high on the list of causing lung cancer.
Lung cancer was little known until after WWI when cigarette smoking started to
become popular. In WWII and Korean troopships were welcomed by the Red Cross
giving out small packets of cigarettes. About half of all adults smoked
(including me). It was proven that tobacco companies made sure the nicotine was
high and stable -- remember the televised hearings? Anyway advertising of tobacco
products was curtailed, now smokers are in the minority. Thank goodness it was
not made illegal, organized crime would love that. Again Mother Culture has
spoken about what’s permissible.

Punishment for use and possession has overcrowded prisons.
Cancer and PTSD sufferers who might be helped are restricted and many become
criminals to get relief... In the meantime usage of all type of illegal drugs
continues unregulated: armed enforcement and legal statutes have done little to
stop sale or distribution. Yes there is a debate if marijuana effects the pain, or you are just too high to notice. No one seems to fund and scientific studies
on this and other aspects of addiction and treatment. The U.N.s’ report on coca
leaf was blocked by the USA.

Here in Florida voters passed a medical marijuana amendment,
legislators dither over regulations, quantity and retail locations etc... In a
special legislative session some rules have been established. 25 distributors
have been authorized and maybe progress will be made. I have heard that law
enforcement say that there is no field test for narcotic levels. I’m sure
modern science and engineering can come up with devices that will stand up in
court for this in less time than it took to invent the breathalyzer, if it’s
funded

Drugs enter from all over, gangs, drug lords and dictators
enjoy immunity from prosecution in many areas as money talks. Hand ringing and
rhetoric about stopping the source does little. Illicit distribution of legal
and illegal opioids continues with few prosecutions.

This in my opinion how to solve the problem (the value of it
has been noted) and in no way reflects the congregation's opinions.

1 .Legalize, tax, grade and label all recreational
drugs (alcoholic beverages are labeled by content i.e. percentage in beer or
wine and proof in spirts). These drugs must be labeled by content, purity and
origin, Taxes should be similar to those on tobacco or alcohol, high enough to
discourage consumption but not high enough to encourage illegal production.
(The ATF, FDA and DEA are already set up and might possibly be merged for more
effect and less cost, (DEA alone is over 2 Billion).

. Penalties
for sales to minors should include the seller and the seller’s suppliers.
Producers should also be liable if product was not diverted/stolen or altered
in manners beyond their control.

.Designate a percentage of the revenue raised for
scientific addiction treatment, research and anti-addiction advertising by
advertising agencies who know how to sell things and Ideas: the remainder could
go into the general fund. It’s estimated that about 10% of the population
(think cigarettes and booze) uses narcotics, half handle it with few problems,
in the other half it becomes harmful to themselves or others and requires
treatment.

So I offer my opinion and reasons I hold these views for
consideration, you may agree or disagree. I urge you to make your views known
to all your elected officials. If they do not know your views they cannot act
upon them. Just Google the title of the office or go the League of Women Voters
website as they maintain a current listing for contact information. That’s
among the ways they listen to Mother Culture's thoughts.

An old acronym covers this situation. Years ago when on the
Missile Test Range even mild swear words weren’t tolerated on communications
nets, when you or a station really messed up TYHOYA was broadcast, maybe using
your name or your stations call sign, public shaming!. It stood for “take your
head out of your arse”. In regard to drug policy I say to society and all
elected officials TYHOYA!